t the 2017 top Gun scaleInvitational, there were manyamazing aircraft flown bysome of the best pilots in theworld. one of the standoutson this year’s flightline was anunusual aircraft in the form ofa Lockheed sR- 71 “Blackbird” that was totallyscratch-built by first-time top Gun competitorLance Campbell of Columbia, Missouri. Lancedid an amazing job and earned second placein the Expert class. the Blackbird scored animpressive 99.167 static points, and at the topGun awards banquet, Lance also received theEngineering Excellence award, sponsored byRobart Mfg., as well as the Critic’s Choice award,sponsored by Zap Glue and Model Airplane News.

Using Futaba radio gear, Lance flew the sR- 71

to a total flight score of 195.709 points. the

85-pound sR- 71 is 13 feet long and is
powered by a pair of JetCat

140-RXi turbines.

After the competition, we
had a chance to catch up with
Lance to get the inside story on his amazing
award-winning and super-smooth-flying
Blackbird.